Martin >>professional lute player, and >> > Does such a person exist? .. > Martin - who is thinking again about doing some recording, inspired by > David's recent experiments
Good, if nothing else, than at least I have achieved that. Go for it, Martin, it's so much fun to do! I consider myself a professional lute player, playing 40 to 60 concerts a year, with a part time job as a guitar teacher to pay the bills. I guess I could do away with the teaching and earn a living playing full time, it's possible in Holland, but apparently I like the stability, too. I've recorded close to 30 cds by now, mostly as a continuo player in chamber music ensembles or as an accompanist to singers. I'm good enough to be asked again, but if I want to make my own cd, there's no company going to pay the production costs for me, even if they are willing to include me in their catalogue. So, like many of my fellow musicians, I've made one or two cds for the vanity press. See my cd with Japanese songs (Dawn to the West) as a good example: a labour of love and a unique project with its accompanying book of sheet music (end of commercial). Rewarding as that is to do, the investment is hard to earn back. Bringing the joy of recording to its bare essenstials is sharing my love for, and my take on, a specific repertoire with a wider audience than the occasional concert goer. Nothing as grand as leaving something for posterity, as I hear some of my colleages proclaim. The added kick I get out of it is experiencing the Zen-like concentration while recording. So I've invested about 1000 euro in a recorder and two mics. So far it has been worthwhile, even if I'm far from satisfied with the sound I've created so far. A work in progress, and that, too, is fun. David - or maybe it's just to combat my mid-life crisis, who knows **************************** David van Ooijen [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.davidvanooijen.nl **************************** To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
